Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-06-24
NOT MUCH LEFT
FOR DEPOsITORS IN THE COLLAPSED FIDEL-
ITY BANK.
Officers Again Arrested, Charged With Conspiracy
SUIT for Damages Nay Be Brought
Against Directors lndl-
vidlally.


excitement about the Fidelity Bank has
never been as great as it was this morning.
The bank examiner, Mr.. Ducamp, who
has been named as receiver, will probably
decline to accept as it will compel him to
give up his present connection with the Me-
tropOlitan National Bank Interest is turn
ing to the question Of what assets can be
made available for the debts of the bank.
If the president and directors can be as.
sessed to the extent of their resources il
will produce about 81, 500, 900 at rough
estimate. There are no new developments.
1t will necessarily require much time and
labor to make thorough examination.
WORSE THAN AT FIRST REPORTED.
All that is really new in the situation as
regards the suspended Fidelity National
Bank can be told in very few words. The
affairs of the bank are, as was anticipated,
worse than at first reported, and appear
ances now indicate that the depositors will
receive little if anything. Instead Of there
being $500, 900 in cash in the vaults. as
was estimated Tuesday night, a count yes
terday showed but half that sum to be on
hand. An additional attachment was is
sued at the instance of the Cleveland bank,
and late last night q second on the applica-
tion of Detroit bank for $l4, 900.
During the day the fact was made known
that portion of the 81, 900, 900 additional
stock applied for, but which the Comp.
troller refused to authorize, had been
issued, but Just how much could not be
learned. As over five thousand shares
would accrue to Harper, it is supposed
that this has been hypothecated. Who
ever holds any of it is caught, for its issue
never having been authorized, it is abso-
lutely worthless. Most of this stock bears
date of May 2l, 1887.
Between and 4o'clock in the afternoon
Harper, Baldwin and Hopkins were again
arrested jointly on two separate affidayits,
the first
CHARGING THEM WITH CONSPIRACY
in making a fraudulent statement of the
condition of the bank on May Is last in
reporting $500, 900 in legal tenders and
$226, 80 in silver certificates on hand at
the close of business that day when such
was not the fact, and the second charging
willful misapprOpriation of the funds OF
the bank in issuing on June II draft for
800, 600 OH the Chemical National of New
York in favor of Wiltshire, Eckert & Co.,
and in issuing other drafts of a like
amount to the same parties on the same
date.
This time the U. S. Commissioner did
not 90 to the bank to hear the case but
Harper, Baldwin and Hopkins were treated
like any other criminals. They were ar
rested at the bank by Marshal Urner and
Deputies ROhnerand KierSt d and taken to
the Government building, where they
waived examination and where they were
detained until nearly dark before they sue.
ceeded in obtaining bondsmen satisfactory
to the representatives of the Government,
Henry POgue, former Director of the
Fidelity, having resigned Saturday last,
and w. II. Chatfeld, still u Director,
swore to the correctness of the
statement of May Is, alleged to
have been frauduleDtly drawn up and
their arrest for the unwilling part they
had in the fraud, is anticipated to-day.
There was some talk of arresting Briggs
Swift, President Of the broken bank, yes,
terday for neglect Of duty, but action was
deferred to await instructions of the Comp,
troller.
a number of the stockholders of the
bank consulted legal advice and have de-
cided TO
BRING CIVIL ACTION
against Mr.. Swift for the amount of their
stock, and damages sustained by the fail
ure of the bank, under the law which
gives shareholders the right TO sue for nal,
ieasanCe in office, whereby loss accrues tC
the shareholders. This right, according tC
Marsh, is often expressly given to the
shareholders by statutory enactment,
though without doubt it exists at common
law in the absence of any legislative inter.
vention.
Errors of Judgment, unless so gross as t
resemble fraud, or to render the accept
ance of the Office practically a fraud, by
reason of entire incapacity and unfitneSs
for it, give no right of action. But any
fraudulent act or any breach or neglect OF
statutory or charter provisions whereby
loss is entailed upon the corporation, and
the value of the shareholders property is
rs a necessary consequence, deprecated
gives right OF action at law to each OnC
of them, to recover the damage or Loss
which he individually has sustained. The
suit need not join all the directors, moi
even all who participated in the
wrongful act, as defendants; but any one
Of them may be sued singly. In this
case, however, the declaration is in
sufficient if it alleges simply that this sol,
2 defendant did an act which could in fac
f be done only by several Directors. Th,
allegation must be that he, together will
others, did the act. Neither is it suficien
simply to allege that he has done wrongful
acts. The nature of the acts should be sci
, forth in general terms, though an accurate
description of each part or element goinI
to make up the entire act complained o
must often be impossible, and NAV be dis
pensed with. Thus if the fault lay in dis
counting number of notes in excess o
the amount allowed by law, it is suficien
to declare generally that such excessiv,
diseounting has been performed, withou
describing the precise notes and loan.
through which it was done.
But the right Of action of the sharehold
er, and the claim on which it is founded
though good as against every member o
the Board of Directors, yet runs against
them as individuals and not in their oflicia
capacity. 1t constitutes their private in
debtednesS, to be discharged by them from
their private property. The corporations
in ne sense liable for it, though the act oui
of which it arose was that of the corporate
government acting officially. The suit
could not be brought against the eorpOr
alton, and the corporate funds could not bt
used to compound or discharge it. Hence
it follows that shareholder can not avail
himself of claim of this nature by way o
set-off against q debt due from himself tC
the bank.
DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS.
Morse's treatise on the law relating tC
banks and banking says on this subject
that the provisions of the act concerning
the distribution of the assets Of an In
solvent bank clearly manifesto design OF
the part of Congress, first, to secure the
Government for the payment of the cir